Chapter Four
~ooOoo~
"Why are you going with him?" Rin glared at his surrogate father with distaste but wasn't able to hide the worry in his eyes.
Shiro chuckled and mussed Rin's hair; although his eyes were filled with real affection. "What? Miss me already, kid? Wait until I've actually left before any of that. You should take this opportunity to appreciate me more."
The blue eyed boy looked at the old man with hurt and shock marring his face before looking at the floor with a furrowed brow and stuffing his hands in his sweater pockets with jerky movements, "Whatever you old geezer but, don't you think it's strange that Okumura-sama suddenly requires your assistance after all these years? Or am I the only one with doubts?"
As he laughed, Shiro pulled on his black trench, "Really Rin there is no reason for you to worry; believe it or not I was once second in command before I was ordered to play nanny to a little brat you may be familiar with."
Picking up a shot gun he quickly checked the chamber for bullets; seeing it was loaded he smiled in satisfaction and slung on a belt full of extra ammo. "It's not like Okumura-sama gave me back my old job. I'm just going for extra back-up."
Rin bit his lip, "Be careful Daddy." His voice was soft and hesitant. It had been years since he had called the old man that.
Shiro's face became gentle as he turned to look at the boy but, just as quickly became troubled, "Rin, I love you like I would to a son but you have a father. I'm not going to tell you to call him anything like daddy but stop referring to him as Okumura-sama; call him father."
Rin's face became distorted with rage and he seethed, "How could you say that to ME?! I will never call him father when he has never been one to me!"
Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily, "Your father is a good man. He made sacrifices and decisions you may not be able to understand right now but, I promise you will later. Just give him a chance."
Rin's whole body was shaking at this point. How could Shiro be siding with that bastard?! The rage was burning him; demanding to be released. Quickly digging his nails into his palm Rin took a few calming breaths.
"I get it now. Did you finally get tired of looking after a troublesome brat like me? If so keep working for that bastard and don't come near me again." Turning quickly the heir to the Okumura clan rushed to leave the room barely able to keep the tears from falling.
"Rin!" Shiro yelled after him but was ignored.
ooo
"Rin! Hey, over here!" a cheerful voice yelled.
Rin turned to see the pink haired pervert waving at him ecstatically with a disgruntled Bon behind him. With a small smile Rin walked over to them, shaking off the troublesome dream. It was strange that he would suddenly be remembering that night; it had happened so long ago.
As the clan leader reached the two older boys, he asked, "Where's the rest of the gang?" Stripey (AKA Bon) gave him a dirty look, maybe because he used the word gang?
As he briefly pondered this, Shima slung his arm around his shoulder, "They went into the office to get our time tables. They'll meet us here."
Glancing at Shima from the corner of his eyes Rin smiled, "Okay."
As they waited, Shima talked animatedly with large sweeping gesture. Rin smiled and laughed at some of the more unbelievable stories. The pinket's enthusiasm when story telling even had grumpy pants; Bon cracked a smile. It took the pink haired boy some time but, he finally noticed the looks they were getting. People whispered and pointed.
Shima frowned, "What's their problem? It's not like where doing anything strange."
Rin shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Look, there are the others." Pointing down the hall towards Yukio, Shiemi, and Miwa; Rin waved and started walking towards them. Shima and Bon quickly followed.
Rin gazed at them in amusement; everyone including Shima was wearing their uniform so properly. They looked like the good kids the school often said they should be, especially when compared to him. His black school pants hung low with a studded belt and chain with a little metal skeleton with black army ankle boots tied loosely. He wasn't wearing his blazer and his sleeves were rolled up with his tie hanging around his collar with the cream coloured school sweater vest. Multiple black and blue bracelets decorated both his wrists and he had multiple silver earrings decorating his ears.
Putting his hands in his pockets Rin inclined his head towards the main door, "Let's go to the school fountain. It's quieter and we'll be able to compare classes and I can direct you to any classes we don't share."
ooo
"Hmm... Well I have art first period with Shima and Miwa. Biology and Chemistry with Yukio second and period and gym fourth period with Stripey, Neko, and Pinky."
Ignoring Bon's angry glare Rin pouted, "This sucks eh, Shiemi? We have no classes together."
Shiemi smiled brightly, "That's true but, we still can see each other at lunch."
Stretching, Rin nodded, as he looked over all the class schedules in front of him, "Luckily, the English room is close to the music room and art room so you, Shima and Miwa shouldn't have any trouble finding it." Pulling on a strand of his hair the blue eyed boy seemed relived as he looked up at the older teens, "Otherwise all of our classes are in the science and math wing."
Shima slumped against the fountain, "Gaah, I hate English and math." Grinning, Rin pushed him lightly, "Don't be so upset you have art and gym to balance everything out and you have Miwa with you in all of your classes."
The cat lover looked confused as he looked down at both of their schedules, "That's true how did you manage that Shima."
Looking a bit embarrassed the pink hair boy rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I just chose all the classes you did."
Bon rolled his eyes, "I guess you were hoping poor Miwa would help you so you won't fail your classes." Everyone laughed at Shima's guilty expression.
Checking his phone Rin jumped down from the fountain ledge, "It's about time we head to class. Any of you got to go to your lockers?" Bon and Yukio nodded but waved Rin away when he started to ask where their lockers were. "We can find them just fine. You guys head off to class." Yukio assured him. Rin saluted the older boy with a cocky grin before lead the rest of the group to the Art wing.
ooo
Yukio watched as Bon fumed about Rin's audacity to give him such a ridiculous nick name. The older teen's head shook in dismay at the other boy's lack of maturity and tapped the Suguro heir's shoulder as he noticed their locker numbers. Luckily, the lockers were in the Science and Math wing so they would be close to their first period classes. Quickly grabbing his binder from his backpack before hanging it in his locker, the green eyed teen turned to leave before stopping suddenly. "Bon, please do try to be nice to Rin, he is our main connection with the Okumura clan and it would be best to stay on his good side."
Bon grunted on agreement, "But isn't it weird that even though he's some random orphan the clan picked up he's allowed to take part in important meetings? Weren't you surprised to see him at the meeting with Okumura-san?"
Yukio's green eyes were filled with contemplation as the teen paused at the Suguro clan heir's words before he continued to walk to class, leaving Bon to watch his receding back in irritation at his question being ignored.
He had to agree with blonde-streaked boy. It was strange that the younger boy was so immersed but, seemingly unconnected. The young genius couldn't really imagine Rin aiding the opposing clan in any way with all the killings connected to the Okumura clan but, he was obviously involved in some way. This brought him back to the idea that he was either used to gain information or was a favourite of the current leader.
Still absorbed in his thoughts about the blue-eyed teen's role, Yukio walked into his AP Physics class without noticing how all the girls perked up at the sight of him. Choosing a seat close to the door the brown haired boy put down his things and sat down to wait for the class to start.
"Um... Hello?"
He turned with a small frown to the sound of the timid hello, Yukio saw a girl with long brown hair and small nervous smile. Instantly wiping away the frown he smiled at her gently, "Yes?"
Encouraged by his smile the girl grinned ecstatically, "I'm Yoko. I noticed that you were new and was wondering if you needed any help finding any of you classes."
With a regretful smile Yukio shook his head, "Thank you for the offer but my friend Rin goes here and has already promised to show me and my other friends around."
The girl blinked in shock, "You're friends with Rin Okumura!" Her voice had risen to a shout when she said the younger teen's name catching the attention of the other kids in the class.
Looking at Yoko in a bit of shock at her rather sudden outburst; Yukio nodded hesitantly. Still looking completely astonished, the girl looked at him with a different type of interest as she sat in the seat next to him, "How did you manage to do that?" Looking at her with interest now; the green-eyed boy knew this would be a great opportunity to get to know more about Rin.
Shrugging as if it didn't matter, Yukio finally answered her, "He's always been warm and welcoming. I'm surprised you aren't friends with him."
The girl snorted, "You're kidding right? That kid has like no friends, he's always alone and if you even try to talk to him he either ignores you or glares. I mean he has this aura that screams get the fuck away from me!"
Leaning forward to rest her head on her hands she continued, "He is the prodigy that was put in advanced classes way ahead of his own grade, so most people are jealous of him. They think he's stuck up because he always wants to work alone, even during group projects! But, I think he's more like an abandoned cat."
"Cat?" Yukio looked at her in shock. He understood where most of the stuff she was saying was coming from but, it was hard to believe Rin was keeping himself so isolated from others. And Yoko's random comparison of the raven hair boy being like a cat really surprised him.
Blushing a little, Yoko looked away, "Yeah, cats on the street are super wary, trusts nobody, and are always ready to defend themselves. I have a feeling he really understands that saying; 'once bitten, twice shy.' Although I have no idea why, I would guess something happened at his previous school."
The girl looked sad and slumped forward crossing her arms, "His attitude causes a lot of people to get offended and feel the need to try to stir him up. I don't know how many times he's been sent to the nurse's office because of bullying. Though not for anything serious just bumps and bruises from falling or getting pushed."
Yukio felt of anger wash over him. Kids were so typical and stupid. Just because they couldn't understand you or you were different they decide you're the perfect object for ridicule. But, with the anger came complete surprise. Rin looked like the type to at least fight back but, from what Yoko was saying he would assume that he just took whatever people threw at him.
"Doesn't he fight back?" He couldn't quite keep all the frustration and anger from his voice.
She looked at him in surprise, "No, but this pisses them off even more. It's like... he finds their taunts so petty and insignificant that it doesn't require any retaliation at all. He kinda seems to be above all of it."
Before he could ask another question the bell rung and Yoko jumped up to get to her own seat. Yukio was left to ponder all this new information as a chubby, old man waddled into the room to begin class.
ooo
After pointing Shiemi in the right direction to find her music class, the three boys continued in the opposite direction to reach the art class.
The blue eyed boy quickly filled them on the current project they were working on, "It's a pretty open project we can use any art media we want we just have to creatively display our favourite thing or person we admire most in the world."
Miwa looked interested in the project's criteria, "That sounds pretty unique. What is our teacher like?"
The raven haired boy laughed, "You'll see."
After choosing a table at the back, they all grabbed a chair and sat down as they waited for the teacher to arrive. Soon, the bell rang and a tall woman walked into the room. Her long black hair was in a neat ponytail and she wore a tight pencil skirt with a silk blouse the empathized her well-endowed chest and slender waist. Red lips smiled as she surveyed the class spotting the two new students. Rin snickered as he saw Shima practically began to salivate at the sight of their beautiful teacher.
"Good morning class. It seems we have two new students, while I inform them about the details regarding this project I would like you all to continue working on your own."
Everyone nodded and Rin quickly got up to collect his canvas and easel setting it up beside their table. When he finished, Ono-sensei had already introduced herself to the two Kyoto kids and was explaining the finer details of the project. Rin couldn't stop the bemused smirk that slid across his face as Shima leered at the teacher while Miwa listened intently.
The blue-eyed turned to study his painting. It was a watercolour of a demonic two-tailed cat made entirely of blue flames. It looked dangerous but delicate because of how faint the paint was. Picking up his brush, Rin began to add more flames around the tails before pausing as he felt the presence of someone behind him. He turned and saw Ono-sensei smile at him,
"Okumura-kun, your work is exquisite as always. I can't wait to read your report on its meaning."
Blinking up at her with a faint blush, Rin shrugged and looking back at his work, "Don't get your hopes up. The meaning isn't that deep."
His voice was dismissive and uninterested. He heard Ono-sensei chuckle as she walked away. The clan heir always hated how after just glancing at his artwork, Ono-sensei seemed to see directly into his soul and would always look at him like she just figured out some big secret.
Ignoring his feelings of unease and vulnerability, he turned to Miwa and Shima, "What are you two going to do?"
Miwa smiled, "I'm doing a Lucky Cat made of clay." Rin smiled at the cat lover. He had discovered from one of Shima's silly stories this morning that Miwa carried cat toys with him at all times in case he ran into a cat. The blue-eyed boy thought that it was only right considering the boy's name was: Konekomaru.
The pink haired boy was still staring after Ono-sensei and Rin had to wave his hand in front of the other boy's face to get his attention.
Blinking at them, Shima grinned, "I'm making a Venus out of clay."
Miwa looked at the other boy in shock. It would seem his perverse personality would be reflected in his art project.
The raven haired boy just shook his head and turned back to his painting, "Make sure you don't write anything too offensive in your report or Ono-sensei might punish you." At the sight of the pervert's complete glee, Rin rolled his eyes in defeat.
For the rest of the class, they worked in compatible silence until Shima started giggling as he worked on the chest of his "Venus". Miwa and Rin sighed in relief as class ended and they put their stuff away. The younger teen waved goodbye and then rushed to his locker.
Unfortunately for him, his locker was on the other side of the school and his AP Biology class was in a completely different direction. After sprinting to his locker to pick up his notebook and binder, Rin had to flat out run to make it to class on time. Ignoring the hostile glares of his classmates, the clan leader smiled at the sight of Yukio sitting alone. He waved then walked over and threw his books down on the lab desk and jumped onto the stool. Rin quickly rested his head on his arms as he slightly panted at the exertion of his morning routine.
Yukio blinked down at him with a slightly worried expression, "Are you okay, Rin?"
"Ha ha, yeah it's just my locker's really far away and I have to run to get here on time." Rin grinned at him as he slowed his breathing.
Before the older teen could reply the teacher walked in. Ume-sensei was a slender man with pale skin and light brown curling hair. Most of the girls at the school thought he was cute but Rin thought he was kinda wimpy.
Rin nudged Yukio gently with his elbow, "You have to pay close attention to this guy. He's really quiet and what he actually says ends up on tests." The green-eyed boy smiled in amusement and nodded. Rin felt a little warm and he looked around. Whenever Yukio smiled it seemed to be stiff and polite but, that one seemed genuine. The clan leader pouted as he realized his current state and quickly looked up at Ume-sensei to start taking notes.
ooo
Yukio stood quickly when the bell rung. He had noticed that the girls had been making their way over to them and wanted to quickly meet with the others so they could have lunch. The dark haired boy turned in surprise as he felt a slender hand on his shoulder.
Rin was smiling at him faintly, "Shima told me you guys had to buy lunch." A quick nod had the younger boy smiling wider. "Well then, I'll meet you guys by the fountain when you finish getting your lunch."
Yukio smiled warmly at Rin, "Okay, we'll see you soon then. Don't worry about having to wait too long; I'll make sure Shima doesn't laze about."
The simple joke had the blue-eyed boy laughing quietly. Yukio felt entranced by the sight of the bright azure eyes and mischievous smile. A chiming laugh quietly rang in the room and the green-eyed boy felt completely humbled by the innocent and easy giggle.
"You do that; knowing that pervert he'll probably be too distracted to pick anything to eat." With another laugh and small wave Rin left the classroom.
Yukio had to shake himself out of his daze and hurried to his locker ignoring his name being called by a group of nameless girls in his class.
Quickly spinning his combination on his lock, the green-eyed boy sharply looked up to see Bon heading towards him. The heir to the Kyoto clan looked angry but since that was how he typically looked, Yukio wasn't worried.
"'Bout time; everyone is already in the cafeteria. What was taking you?"
Yukio pushed up his glasses as he closed his locker door with one hand, "I was talking with Rin about where we're going to eat lunch. I'm sorry for my delay."
Bon snorted, "Of course that brat would be the reason we've been waiting." The brown haired boy gave the blond-streaked a disapproving look but didn't comment. Whether he liked it or not Bon would be his boss one day when his father "retired"; still learning to be respectful to his childish attitudes was becoming more and more of a challenge.
"I got a call from my father yesterday; he informed me that he accepted the invitation from the Okumura clan." Bon continued without noticing the look he had been given. "We are to meet him at some restaurant to take part in the meeting."
Yukio nodded, "I see. Not the whole group right? Just us two?"
The other boy shrugged and rolled his eyes, "The old leech doesn't think the others are ready to experience this kind of meeting yet."
Yukio didn't comment as they reached the others and quickly bought their lunch. His only problems was forcing Shima to focus on food rather than the girls and getting Shiemi to calm down and choose something to eat, rather than talking about all the nice people in her classes. They walked to the fountain in high spirits as they all discussed their classes. Yukio was glad that they were finally able to relax. In Kyoto they were all rumoured to be connected to yakuza and it was enough for the students at their old school to treat them differently.
When they arrived at the fountain Rin was sitting on the ledge with his feet just over the water. A black bento box was on his lap and the younger boy was quietly eating while looking into the glistening blue water. The sun shone on his hair making it seem a deep navy rather than black and his skin like cream and as he turned to smile at them Yukio felt his heart skip a beat at the beautiful and serene scene.
"Hey guys it took you less time to get here than I expected." Rin's smile was warm but small.
Yukio sat on his left side facing the opposite direction; unlike the younger boy he didn't want to risk getting his shoes wrecked. Shima sat on his right with Shiemi and Bon sat with Miwa next to him. They all settled into conversations about their classes but the pinket's stories were the ones the group focused on the most. So far the boy had been slapped 5 times, kicked twice, and punched once; all because of hitting on various girls. The green-eyed boy thought Shima was rather lucky that only one of the girls had a boyfriend and the boyfriend only punched him once. He had been hoping the pink haired boy would have matured a bit during this mission but it would seem to be too much to ask for him to act civilly around women.
Shima finally took a break to glance down at what Rin was eating. It was an elaborate lunch with sushi, spring rolls, onigiri and rice with seaweed; everything looked delicious and well made.
The golden-eyed seemed to drool at the sight, "Ri-chan! Where did you get that bento?!"
Yukio's eye twitched at the other boy's overly-friendly tone with Rin but felt himself relaxed at the younger boy's bright laugh, "Hehe, I made it last night. If you guys want I can make you lunch so you don't have to buy lunch every day."
Shima smiled widely and slung an arm around the raven's slender shoulders, "You really are the best, Ri-chan. Last time we had dinner at you place, I was full fooorever and it was sooooo good. Nobody at our place can cook and I've been craving a good home cooked meal."
Yukio had to clench his jaw so as to not snap at him to let Rin go. Sighing, he looked down in defeat; if he didn't know better he would think he was jealous that Shima could be so casual with the beautiful boy. He looked up quickly at the sound of clapping.
It was Shiemi who clapped happily as she seemed to remember something. Her light green eyes literally sparkled as she looked up at Rin in admiration, "That reminds me! I wanted to ask you if you could maybe teach me how to cook?" Her hands were clasped together as if she was praying; she pleaded to him with her eyes. Yukio watched with interest as blue eyes softened while regarding the innocent girl.
Rin patted her blond hair softly, "I would love to Shiemi-chan!"
Her smile widened, "You can come over to today, if you're not busy!"
The young genius had to keep Bon from standing up by gently grabbing his wrist as he watched Rin's eyes widen at the invitation before flicking to see the blond streaked boy's reaction.
When he saw the shock and anger his smile turned into a sly smirk. "Of course I'll come over. We can meet at the school entrance and you can ride with me."
Bon jumped up ready to stop all of these friendly interactions but, was stopped as the bell rung. Rin out right laughed at his expression, "Saved by the bell, eh?"
ooo
Rin led Yukio to their chemistry class; they chatted easily about Ume-sensei's teaching method and explanations. The brown haired boy looked a bit strained, "He's a good teacher but I could hardly hear him and those girls were being so loud,"
The older boy wasn't able to completely hide his irritation at the girls' stupidity. Rin giggled and had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Yukio looked amused at the younger boy's reaction but, arched brow as if offended, "What's so funny?"
Rin shook his head, unable to explain the source of his mirth. The girls had been gawking at Yukio when not making fools of themselves over Ume-sensei. It would seem the older boy hadn't noticed some of their squeals had been because of him. Every time Yukio had fixed his glasses or brushed away his hair that was falling into his face the girls had completely freaked out and caused them both to miss what the quiet teacher had been saying. The raven boy had noticed the way the other boy's eyes would darken with irritation before becoming completely blank again. Rin liked that he was able to read Yukio's emotions easily.
As the older boy sat down, Rin went to the back of the class to pick up his chemistry text book. At Yukio's curious look he shrugged, "I would be late to class if I didn't keep this here. I honestly would rather not have a detention with Boso-sensei."
Yukio nodded in understanding and they talked quietly about the quiz Ume-sensei was giving them on Friday.
"Quiet brats!" Everyone looked up as Boso-sensei entered the room.
He was tall with long dark hair and a goatee. He wore a white lab coat and was angrily staring down the students who still dared to talk.
When the room was silent he continued, "Get into partners were going to be doing an experiment today."
Sitting at his desk he dropped his feet on the desk and surveyed the room with a malicious glare, "Wear all the safety gear and follow the instructions in the book. If I have even one accident in here I'm going to skin alive the kid responsible."
Rin rolled his eyes at the teacher's speech; Boso-sensei could be such a callus ass. Poking Yukio's shoulder he pointed to the equipment they needed and the other boy reluctantly followed him.
The blue-eyed boy patted his shoulder reassuringly, "This is an AP class so accidents rarely ever happen. These kids are mature enough to follow the rules and be careful." With a quick grin Rin continued, "Also, these nerds are scared to death of Bozo-sensei."
Yukio smiled at the nickname as he put on his goggles and lab coat. Rin had already put on his gloves and was heading to the cabinet filled with the six chemicals Boso-sensei said they needed; all were numbered but had no labels. After collecting the bottles and vials, he sat down and Yukio soon joined them. Looking at the board the raven haired boy tuned to page 275 in his text book which outlined the experiment.
"Seems like we're just recording the reactions when adding the chemicals to water." with a frown Yukio poured water in the vial, "Looks a bit too simple for an AP class."
Rin read the instructions silently, "Well, I guess Boso-sensei wants to start out easy. This is our first experiment in this class."
The green-eyed boy hummed in agreement as he measured the correct amount of chemicals that would be added to the water into test tubes. They quickly performed the experiment and recorded all the results; all the chemicals had a distinct reaction.
Ten minutes before class ended, Boso-sensei looked up from his cellphone, "For homework research what the six chemicals could be; you should all expect a pop quiz on this sometime this week. If you don't do the homework, expect to fail."
Rin turned to Yukio with a challenging smile, "Let's split the chemicals; I'll take the first three and you can take the rest. I don't want more homework so how 'bout we finish it with the time remaining in class."
The older boy blinked in surprise before nodding. They worked quickly and switched sheet to copy each other's answers. The raven haired boy stretched in relief, "Yay, now I only have biology after helping Shiemi!"
The blue eyed blinked in surprise as the bell rang; he had wanted to talk with Yukio some more but, it would seem it would have to wait. Frowning in slight irritation, he jumped up to bring his text book to the back of the class and pick up his notebook; waving goodbye to the older boy he sprinted to his locker. Snatching up his gym bag, Rin's frown deepened; he hated having to literally run to his classes. Even though he took grade twelve courses his locker was still in the grade 10 corridors. As he jogged to the gym, the blue-eyed boy wondered if he should request a locker change.
He ignored the other boys in the locker room as he chooses an empty locker to put his stuff in. Quickly stuffing his bag inside and pulling out his gym clothes, Rin turned as his name was called by Shima. Bon and Miwa were with him and they were all already changed. "I'll meet you guys in the gym; I still have to get ready." They nodded and left.
Taking off his bracelets and earrings he threw them into the locker before whipping off his vest and shirt. Feeling slightly grumpy about all the layers he had to take off he quickly pulled on his gym sweater with jerky motions and kick off his pants and boots. Slipping on his sweat pants he ran into the gym holding his puma running shoes. Seeing the Kyoto kids sitting in a group on the fringes of the class he headed towards them. Sitting down he stuffed his feet inside the pumas and laced them up. Rin glanced up as he heard Bon's snort; unable to contain his irritation any longer he arched a brow and asked, "Problem?"
Bon glared at his tone, "Yeah, just wondering how a scatter brained idiot like you who always seems to be late for class is even considered a prodigy."
Shima and Miwa looked shocked and Rin felt his temper flare. It would seem the Suguro heir not only had a problem with his connections with the Okumura clan but, also his intelligence.
Smirking, the clan leader leaned back to regard Bon with a mocking expression, "Sounding a bit jealous, BonBon." With a scathing laugh he continued, "There is no need for any of that. Even if you tried your hardest you could never measure up to me." With a sardonic expression he ignored the white hot rage on blond-streaked boy's face and turned to Shima and Miwa.
Smiling he tilted his head, "How was your third period class guys?"
Both looked very tense as their eyes flicked to see Bon's rage before, flicking back to Rin's completely calm smiling face. Shima opened his mouth as if about to answer but, was saved from the awkward situation by the gym teacher walking in blowing a whistle. He wore a black jogging suit and had a double chin.
"Now I'm sorry about being late but, I was held up by the principal. Today we will be doing laps around the gym. A pair of you will have a sort of "race" to keep you guys motivated. The one with the lowest time will decide what we do tomorrow in class."
An excited mummer ran through the class; Gen-sensei was known for being a hard ass and even one day of rest was a god sent gift. Looking down at his clipboard Gen-sensei called out Rin and Bon's names. "You two are the first pair. Five laps around the gym."
They both perked up; Rin flashed the other boy a cocky smirk before getting in position. "Expect to lose this race Bonny-chan."
The other boy snorted as he settled into position, "Yeah right, pretty boy. I wouldn't expect you to be able to lift yourself up with those stick like arms let alone be able to last five laps."
When Gen-sensei gave them a go they sprinted into action. Rin made sure to maintain at least four metre distance ahead of Bon; laughing as he heard the older boy's growls of frustration.
On their last lap Rin turned to run backwards, "I thought I wasn't going to be able to last five laps." With a carefree laugh he turned back around; putting some extra effort into his run.
He heard an outraged roar and felt something hit his back. Seeing the ground heading towards his face he threw out his hands to catch himself. The young clan leader knew he wouldn't be able to recover from the fall without arising suspicion from the Kyoto clan heir Rin let himself skid across the floor feeling extremely incensed that Bon would actually kick him to win a race in gym class!
Jumping up he whipped around to glare at the older boy, "What the FUCK is wrong with you?!"
Bon smirked confidently, "As if I would let a weak pretty boy like you win"
Rin growled but contained the urge to lunge and strangle the stupidly competitive boy. Before he could respond with a scathing insult to the older boy's stupid reply the teacher intervened.
"I don't know what your problems are with each other but you will be running laps for the rest of the class." Blowing his whistle Gen-sensei turned to the rest of the class, "The rest of the class will be playing dodge ball divide into even teams and play."
Both boys gave each other a final glare before resuming their laps.
Rin didn't understand why he was getting so upset; true what the blond streaked kid did was annoying but, he had dealt with people hating him without even knowing him his whole life. The raven haired boy couldn't understand why today of all days he had such a short fuse. How was he going to get the Suguro-clan kids to trust him if he kept overreacting to Bon's taunts and disdain? Rin felt his thoughts slip back to the dream he had the night before; he quickened his pace from a jog to a sprint as if trying to outrun the past.
ooo
Rin looked up as Shura burst into his room; her hair was dishevelled and her clothes splattered with blood. The raven would have told her to leave if she was going to make a mess in his room but, her expression stopped him. Total devastation and disbelief marred her usually smug features making the clan heir run towards her in worry. Softly touching her shoulder he looked into her eyes, "Shura what's wrong?"
She seemed to shake herself out of a daze as she gazed into Rin's increasing worried eyes. The fiery red hair released a shaky breath, "I'm so sorry, so sorry Rin. Your father and Shiro were killed during the meeting." Her voice became ragged as she held back tears. She couldn't cry; she had to be strong for Rin...for Shiro. "Their bodies are in the main hall; this will be your last chance to see them before they are buried."
But Rin wasn't listening; he was still reeling from the knowledge that Shiro was dead. He took a step back; hand still rose as if reaching out for something. His throat tightened, tears prickled his eyes. The black haired boy tried to say something but all that came out was a strangled gasp; he wanted to scream, to shout that she was lying. But, even he couldn't deny the truth in her eyes. Clasping his shaking hands to his chest, he tried to control his breathing but, all that came out were painful gasps.
"Where-where is he?"
The blue-eyed boy felt Shura's hand on his shoulder, leading him somewhere. He couldn't focus on where he was going. All of Rin's energy was being currently being focused on keeping his legs moving forward and not throwing up. He felt the hand on his shoulder tighten, effectively stopping him in front of a door. The shogi screen slid open, revealing Igor Neuhaus; Okumura-sama's current second in command. The raven briefly wondered why Neuhaus was alive instead of Shiro before focusing on the two bodies laid out in the middle of the room. Rin numbly walked by Igor and the two guards occupying him towards the body with its face uncovered. Shiro's face was peaceful but, covered in blood. The thick crimson liquid seemed to have been pouring out from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth making Rin frown. He wondered what kind of attack would result in this kind of damage. Crooked glasses caught his attention and he reached out to fix them. Only when he touched the old man's cold face did the reality of his death finally hit him. Slumping forward the blue-eyed boy let out an anguished cry as tears rolled down his cheeks,
"Why!? Why!?"
Reaching forward Rin clutched the body to his chest, "Daddy, why did you leave me?" He sobbed quietly as he felt Shura kneel beside him. She gently laid a hand on his back as she too cried. He didn't know how long they sat there but eventually their tears ran out. The young clan heir knew that Shiro wouldn't have wanted him to be sad; he had always wanted Rin to be happy. He just wished that his adoptive father could have been alive to see him become the man he had always wanted the young boy to be in the future.
Suddenly Shura spoke, "Rin would you like to pay your respects to your father now? Although you shouldn't remove the cover; his face was badly damaged during the attack" Her voice was gentle and her eyes soft.
The young boy blinked up at her completely confused, "What are you talking about? I'm with my real father right now." But, the confusion quickly left his face as he glared at her in disgust,
"You can't possibly mean that man. That man is the reason Shiro is dead! He could rot in this room and I still would only care about the disgusting smell!" Rin laughed cruelly as he turned to stare at Neuhaus and the two guards with him. "Why is Shiro dead and Okumura-sama's assigned guards and second in command still alive?"
The current second in command frowned; his one remaining eye hard and cold. "I couldn't stop him. One moment everything was going as planned and then Shiro was jumping in front of Okumura-sama." He sighed and ruffled his hair. "Before we could even react they were both dead."
Rin glared at the older man but didn't comment on his recount of what happened. Looking down, he kissed Shiro's cheek one last time and laid him gently down. He turned at the sound of the screen opening and saw Izumo walk in with a stricken expression. Her usually neat indigo hair was falling out of its ponytail and her yukata was slipping off one shoulder. At the sight of Shiro she fell to her knees, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears dripped from her violet eyes as she shook her head in denial but, like Rin she couldn't escape the invertible truth. Their mentor and father figure was dead; they were alone.
Shura quickly got up to kneel next to the hysterical young woman and comfort her. She looked at Igor with slightly red eyes but, completely sullen. "What will happen now? Who will take over the clan?"
He blinked at her question as if completely surprised. Rin found himself hating the man; the question was reasonable considering the situation. Although when the man finally spoke the blue-eyed boy felt his hatred turns into a full blown loathing.
"Obviously Rin-sama will be taking over. He is the heir and has been taught everything he needs to since his birth." The half blind man spoke as if it was the most obvious solution for a fifteen year old boy to take over a yakuza clan.
Rin snorted in derision; of course he would be left to deal with everything. The bastard that had the nerve to call himself his father would have loved to ruin his life further by placing him in charge of the clan he not only hated but, now unfortunately ruled. Sighing, the newly appointed clan leader asked his second in command calmly, "Are the men who did this dead?"
"Yes Okumura-sama." was Igor's quick response.
It made the blue-eyed boy sick to be referred to by that name but, he ignored the feeling and continued, "Okay then, my first order is that nobody but the people in this room may know I am the clan leader."
Ignoring the shock looks he received, Rin ran a hand through his hair and for the first time that night, he smiled.
Although the smile made the others shiver at the cruelty in the simple expression. "Next, I want the whole Kuronuma clan destroyed. There cannot be one survivor; I never want to hear the name again if it has a connection to the clan."
Neuhaus looked completely reluctant to follow these orders but nodded and gestured to the two guards, "These two are your new personal guards Okumura-dono. They will accompany you when you need it and give their lives to save yours."
Rin merely smirked at the declaration before he spoke mockingly to his new escorts, "Well let us hope you do a better job than last time, no?"
They both bowed deeply, although they looked tense, "Of course Rin-sama."
ooo
Rin stopped putting away his bag in his locker as he heard his ring tone. Quickly pulling out his phone, the raven answered without checking the number."Hello?"
"Oi! Brat, where the hell are you?" Shura's angry voice blared from the cell phone, causing Rin to wince at the decibel level. In a bored voice the blue-eyed boy answered, as he started walking towards the school entrance.
"I didn't know I had to report to you but, if you must know I'm at school and then I'm going over to the Kyoto kid's place to help Shiemi with something."
He heared the red head snort in disbelief, "How could you forget, Rin? It's the anniversary of the late Okumura-dono's and Shiro's deaths. The entire clan is heading to the cemetery now!"
Rin stopped walking in shock, he hadn't even realized that it had been a year since Shiro had died. He started walking again as he answered Shura's question, "I don't know how I could forget but, honestly I've had a lot on my mind recently. Also, I don't want to visit with the entire clan. I'll go later tonight."
The raven heard the red-head growl but, quickly ended the call to avoid her scolding for his decision.
He sighed as he realized why he had been dreaming of his last night with Shiro; guilt wormed it's way into his heart. No matter how much Rin wished his last words to the old man hadn't been so harsh; nobody could change the past. At the sight of the gentle blond girl waiting for him, the raven pushed away all thoughts of his deceased caretaker and waved.
"Rin!" The green-eyed girl waved back, excitedly.
The bubbly voice made Rin smile in affection. Shiemi really was the sweetest girl he had ever met and the clan leader liked to think that if he had ever had a younger sister she would be as mildly tempered as the petite blond. He had enough experience with difficult older sisters considering Shura and Izumo (mostly the red head) had always found the time to tease him when he was younger. The young clan leader hoped that sometime spent with her might help ease some of the dread he felt at the thought of going to visit the graves. With a forced smile Rin asked, "Ready to learn some things about cooking, Shiemi-chan?"
Thank you to BakemonoShoujo, the beta who edited this piece :)
New Edits-08/21/14